1. Field of the Invention
Exercise Equipment
2. Description of Related Art
Occasionally a descriptive term in this application may be shortened so as to recite only a part rather than the entirety thereof as a matter of convenience or to avoid needless redundancy. In instances in which that is done, applicant intends that the same meaning be afforded each manner of expression. Thus, the term pulley wheel assembly tethering means (24) might be used in one instance but in another, if meaning is otherwise clear from context, expression might be shortened to assembly tethering means (24) or merely tethering means (24) Any of those forms is intended to convey the same meaning.
The term attach or fasten or any of their forms when so used means that the juncture is of a more or less permanent nature, such as might be accomplished by nails, screws, welds or adhesives. Thus it is stated herein that the connection of the strap anchoring hook (249) to a wall (600) or door (700) is one of attachable mounting. A connection in which an object is easily removed from another is described by the word emplace, as where it is stated herein that the door impingement strap loop (242) is emplaced upon either a hook (249) or a portion of an over-the-door bracket (248) for connection. A connection in which two objects, although not attached could be separated only with considerable difficulty is referred to herein as one of rigid emplacement. The snapping in place of the stretchable hand wrapping media member (15) into the hand bar's media member accommodation means (114) is stated herein to provide such a connection. Employment of the words connector join or any of their forms is intended to include the meaning of any of those terms in a more general way.
The word comprise may be construed in any one of three ways herein. A term used to describe a given object is said to comprise it, thereby characterizing it with what could be considered two-way equivalency in meaning for the term. Thus, it is stated that the impinger's stem (1183) comprises a more or less slender rod-like member-one of three parts of the impinger (118), meaning that the latter is in fact the former and the former, the latter. The term comprise may also be characterized by what might be considered one-way equivalency, as when it is stated herein that in one of two variants of the subject matter hereof, a media member well (1143) comprises the media member accommodation means (114), meaning that the well (1143) is itself the media member accommodation means (114). This use of the word has a generic sense to it. That is, a well (1143) will always be media member accommodation means (114) but media member accommodation means (114) may be a well (1143) in one case but something else—a tunnel (1141), for instance—in another. However, the word comprise may also be used to describe a feature which is part of the structure or composition of a given object. Thus, the palm bar (11) is said to comprise, among other things, a static line tunnel (113) as a component thereof (11). The meaning in the respective cases is clear from context, however. Accordingly, modifying words to clarify which of the three uses is the intended one seem unnecessary.
Terms relating to physical orientation such as top or bottom, upper or lower, upwards or downwards, refer to the positioning of an object in the manner in which it would be typically oriented for use or viewing. The palm bar's top (111) is, thus, the surface directly in contact with the palm of the operator's (500) hand while its bottom (112) is the opposing portion thereof oriented downward from the open aspect of the hand. Similarly, the over-the-door bracket is seated upon the door's (700) upper edge. One end of a stretchable hand wrapping media member (15) is said to ascend from one of the bar's media member accommodation means (114), extend upward in looped configuration permitting it (15) to extend across the back of an operator's (500) hand then descend for downward insertion into opposing media member accommodation means (114). And the combination's static line is described as extending upward between the operator's (500) middle and ring fingers. It is intended that orientational references to the object be equally understood regardless of any theoretical disposition of it such as, for example, if it were held upside down.
The phrase in communication with indicates an openness between a first cavity, chamber or other opening with a second, suggesting unbarred or unimpeded egress and ingress from one to the other as, for example, that described with reference to a media member access slot (116) and a respective media member accommodation means (114)—whether tunnel (1141) or well (1143). The relational phrase disposed in opposition or equivalents thereof such as opposing and oppositely, indicate dual existence and locus, such as that of the media member access slots (166), the first of which is disposed at a palm bar's (11) first end and the second, at the other.
Moreover, certain other words may occasionally be coined herein to simplify discussion by interchanging noun, verb or adjective or by modifying certain words. It takes little imagination to understand, for example, that the coined word impinger (118) has been recognized as identifying an object which is capable of impingement upon another object. The word rotable is another example of coining use denoting the behavior of turning upon an axis rather than some sort of spinning motion which might be addressed by the more cumbersome word rotatable. The expression attachably is coined for convenience, in one instance at least, from the root of attach. The word tunnel is used both as a verb and noun herein, the former referring to the process of excavation required to create the object addressed by the latter—say, the line tunnel (113), for instance; or, perhaps, to a first object's passage through a second—as, for example, that of the line tunnel (113) through the palm bar (11). In a related sense, the line (3) is said in keeping with common parlance to run from one point to another, indicating, of course its (3) directional progression or extension along that path, rather than any particular movement thereof (3), whatever capabilities for such movement there might or might not be. The verb expression enreeve is borrowed from the state of existence term enreevement and considered herein to derive from the root word reeve—the extension of a first member through an aperture or longitudinal passageway in a second.
The word static as used in conjunction with line herein—the cord-like tethered extension (3) of the exercise assembly—is merely the positively stated equivalent herein of the less preferred and, perhaps, more cumbersome negative expression non-stretchable.
Several features of the subject matter hereof exist in pairs or comprise paired members of the assembly. In instances in which expression concerning such a paired feature or member is given in the singular, it should be interpreted to apply as to the paired aspect thereof.
The adjective reciprocation-pull frequently used herein, denotes exercise in which in operator (500), either gripping tethered paired members of an exercise assembly—one in each hand—or having them paired in connection to the body in some manner—right ankle and left ankle, for example—pulls backward upon one member of the pair and then the other in an alternating manner so that advancement and withdrawal of the members occurs in a reciprocating manner. That undertaking in exercise is, of course, an ancient one.
Experience has, thus, already taught a great deal with reference to the practice of using stretchable members in an exercise assembly. In a hollow cord, for example, it is a common practice to insert a plug or stopper (156) for what is herein regarded as stop means (155). It is also known that the stretchable member may be thinned out by pulling upon it to stretch it out for emplacement within a slot formed to receive it and snapping it into place. The use of a door impingement strap (241), wherein a thickened sector (243) is disposed on the side of the door (700) opposite that from which exercise tension is derived, has also been widely adopted as anchoring means for an exercise pulling assembly. The thickened sector (243) often acts either—or sometimes as both—by its (243) impingement between the door (700) and its frame (701) and as a blocker which cannot be pulled through the space. Then, too, the co-engagement of such a cord with various sorts of pulley systems has been relied upon for a very long time. An easy-to-hook-up pulley comprising a pulley wheel connecting frame (23)—or block, as it is sometimes referred to—with housing and axle (22) connection along but one side of the pulley wheel (21) was illustrated, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,711 issued to Hinds.
The benefits in employing one or more non-stretchable or static lines (3) in a reciprocation-pull exercise assembly have been with us not just for decades but, perhaps, centuries. In 1880, U.S. Pat. No. 232,579 issued to Weeks provided a static line as the main one of an interconnected tethered linkage, also including stretchable cords, running through a series of pulley wheel assemblies (2) and terminating in handgrips held by an operator (500); and the solely static tethered cord (3) was undoubtedly extant long before that in conjunction with weights and pulleys.
The securing of stretchable cords within handgrips with an impinger eventually became popular. The attempt to impinge non-stretchable, or static, cords was fraught with difficulty, however, in that the cord often tended to work free from its retention during repetitious and vigorous use. For some time, impingers were components separate from the handhold they were intended to serve. They occasionally loosened their grip or became misplaced or lost. Ultimately, a dependable impinger anchored within the exercise handhold was provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,147,592 issued to Hinds, et al. Experience now has demonstrated that system's applicability even to a static cord (3).
It seems reciprocation-pull rehabilitative exercise benefits more from static cord tethered (3) arrangements than from the stretchable sort. Many now also consider zero resistance to the pulling effort superior in rehabilitation programs than tugging against resistance or weights. Under this view, the repetition has become more important than the foot-pounds of muscular energy expended.
While the prior art has provided an enormous number of exercise assemblies—many of them reciprocation-pull arrangements—one cannot help but recognize the need for one which is dependably secured, yet simple in essence.